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VPS Getting Started

 

This guide will walk you through the essential first steps after purchasing a new VPS:

Accessing Your VPS

Resellers may already be familiar with setting up private name servers, but if you are hosting on a VPS, it is the only way to create name servers for your new hosting package. Before your name servers are created, you will have to use your IP address to access the server with the following URLs:

WHM: 
https://server-ip-address:2087
cPanel: 
https://server-ip-address:2083
VZ Panel: 
https://server-ip-address:4643

Using this URL format, you'll be able to access WHM with the IP address provided in the email with your server details using the user root and the password from the email. Once you've followed the rest of the steps in this article, you'll be able to use your domain name instead of your IP address.

First Time Setup

After you log into your VPS for the first time, there are a few setup options you may wish to configure. This will entail becoming familiar with the Virtuozzo power panel and performing the initial setup of WHM and cPanel.

These guides will walk you step by step through learning about the tools you have access to and configuring them to work for you:

Once you've got your settings correct and can access and make changes to your VPS, you're ready to continue setting up your private name servers ⤵ , which will allow you to access your server via your domain name.

Private Name Servers

By now, you're ready to set up your domain to be able to access your VPS. By setting up private name servers, you'll not only be able to access your VPS with your own domain name, but you can then use those name servers for any other domains that need to point to your server without any further setup.

HostGator provides the following article to walk you through setting up private name servers both on your VPS and with step by step instructions for many popular domain registrars:

Once you're done, nothing stops you from using your VPS exactly how you may be used to!

Bonuses

Owning a VPS provided by HostGator comes with a whole list of benefits and extras. Check the article below for a list of services we provide to you for hosting on a VPS:

Troubleshooting a VPS

Some extra troubleshooting steps are available for a VPS, which are not available on other hosting plans. In the case that your container is experiencing performance issues, you may check the resources being used by the server from Virtuozzo:

Another troubleshooting step available to a VPS owner that is not available on shared hosting is the ability to reboot the server if the need arises. The following article will assist with rebooting a VPS server:

Additional Resources

Since a VPS can be set up to resell hosting to third parties, you can check out the Reseller Startup Guide. Just keep in mind that this is not recommended for multiple resource-intensive sites, but it can be a great way to try out these settings before committing to a Dedicated Server. This guide, while written for our Reseller accounts, offers many valuable tips to VPS owners as well:

Also, for further recommended reading and additional tips and useful links, check out our VPS hosting guide: